Michael H has his say....

Michael H tells us about his Thanksgiving.....

Michael H said...
Mary and I took the old man to dinner. His favorite Chinese place was closed, as were the second and third places we tried. When did Chinese restaurants start closing on holidays?

We found a nice diner that was open. God love the Greek restauranteurs, they never sleep. Maybe that's why they all look ready for the coronary ICU at any moment.

We were seated and a nice waitress asked if we wanted coffee. The old man said "Is your coffee good? I haven't got much time left and I'm not drinking any more lousy coffee." She came back with three cups and a freshly brewed pot.

The turkey dinners were pretty good. We had plenty to take home. Gravy was served in a cup on one side of the plate. The old man took a spoonful and said "What the hell's wrong with this pudding?" "It's gravy, John" said Mary. He said "I know, I know, I'm just teasing." Maybe he was, who knows?

The food perked him up and it became stream-of-conscience time. Some of the jewels:

"Culver's is a successful restaurant chain because they figured out onions. They put red onions on their burgers and that makes them taste better."

"There's too damn many grocery stores. And they're all too big. Some of 'em are going to go bankrupt, count on it."

"My parents grew everything they needed. Some years during the Depression my pop made only $600, but they paid off their house, canned their own meat and vegetables, made wine and liquor, sewed clothes and made soap. I check out at the grocery store yesterday and it was fifty five bucks. How the hell did my folks make it?"

"Your sister called and wanted to come over for a visit. I told her I wasn't feeling good. Truth is, she comes over and doesn't stop talking. She starts talking and an hour later I still don't know what the hell she's talking about. She's like a radio station - she sends but she doesn't receive."

"They ripped out and replaced the parking lot at the apartment where I live. I watched the whole thing. They were gettin' ready to put in the new blacktop and I walked out to the middle of it with my cane. The gravel was too soft. It didn't feel right. The foreman came over and said "What the hell are you doing?" I told him my cane was actually a penetrometer and I'm getting a reading of maybe 1800 PSI and you know damn well you need 2100 PSI or this thing'll be full of cracks and potholes next year. He told me to get back to the sidewalk, but he had a roller come back over it one more time. I watched."

We took him home, drove through the park on the way, then walked him into his apartment and stayed a while. Afterwards, Mary and I were quiet on the ride back to our place.

"How long?" she finally asked. "I don't know. Tomorrow, Christmas, Easter, no one knows, including his MD who said" 'Labor Day' last spring." "Well, that's not much different than the rest of is, isn't it? You never know."

You never know. I think that's one reason why Thanksgiving is such a great holiday. People scramble to get home, braving clogged airports and highways, bad weather, annoying relatives and everything else that goes with the holiday. You have to go home once a year and see everyone, have a meal, tell stories and jokes, coo over the babies, fuss over the elderly and remember the departed because you just never know.


Thanks Michael. Time is short. You have to enjoy your family when you can. I hope you can enjoy some more memories with you Dad and he can defy the experts. You never know. All the best to you and the family.

And to all of the famlies you visit us here at Trooper York.